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Hopkinton man arrested in Franklin after two-hour chase

FRANKLIN - A Hopkinton man who was arrested on two misdemeanor charges escaped from a police car and led police from eight law enforcement agencies on a nearly two-hour chase Tuesday afternoon, only to be caught after a police dog bit him.

Derek Wright, 26, was arrested and handcuffed at 1:55 p.m. as he was walking in the downtown area, said Sgt. Daniel Ball. He was going to be charged with violation of probation and operating after suspension of his license.

As two police officers were driving him back to the police station, Wright managed to get one hand free from his handcuffs, said Ball, who credited Wright's escape to the skinniness of his limbs.

"It had to do with how skinny his arms are, he was able to slip free of one of the handcuffs," Ball said.

Wright then reached his free hand around the metal bars on the cruiser's back window and opened his door, and then rolled out of the car and fled on foot. Law enforcement officers chased him through back yards and streets, and eventually captured him at the beginning of the Winnipesaukee River Trail.

"We kept getting reports of sightings of him from area homes," Ball said. "He was finally caught at 3:44 p.m. after he was bitten by a police dog.

Wright was taken to Franklin Regional Hospital, where he was treated for his bite wound. The wound was not a serious injury, he said.

He was then taken to the Merrimack County Jail, where he was being held Tuesday night on $50,000 cash bail. He will be arraigned Wednesday morning on several new charges, including two felony counts, one for escape from a police officer and the other for resisting arrest.

Assisting Franklin police in the chase and apprehension of Wright were officers from the state police, the Merrimack County Sheriff's office, and from the Bristol, Boscawen, Danbury, Northfield, and Tilton.